BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Bellows Falls welcomes a new business to The Square, as 7 Balls Brewing is now open for business at 94 Rockingham Street, also formerly known as the historic Real Scoop building. The owners – Chris Sherwin, Paul Lawrence, and Steve Adams – have been friends since middle school, all went to high school together, and have been perfecting their home brew recipes for nearly a decade.
“I started home brewing in the late ‘90s when my wife and I lived in California,” Sherwin said in a recent interview. “We brewed mostly for ourselves to start, all of us being connoisseurs of craft brew, especially here in New England.
“We have all driven far and wide for special can releases and different breweries to visit. Yes, we were even part of the Heady Topper/Sip of Sunshine when you had to drive north of Barre and Montpelier on select days just to find it.”
However, at this stage in their working lives, the trio wasn’t necessarily looking to start a new business, but they did like the idea of trying to give back to their local community and be a part of the special revival that has taken place throughout the local business district.
“After home brewing for six or seven years and honing our skills, we started sharing our beer recipes with local townsfolk and friends, and before long, we were receiving rave reviews and people telling us we needed to make our beer available commercially.”
The trio actually started looking for a retail space a couple years ago, and were originally hoping to open at 33 Bridge Street in order to utilize the hydro power, but that plan didn’t work out.
“We looked at a few other locations in town as well, [the train station, RJ’s building] but when Steve and I got messages about the Scoop Shop building being renovated, we started conversations about that space.”
Utilizing the Scoop Shop building was like coming full circle in a way, as Chris’ wife Cheryl worked there in high school, and Steve was often a patron there as well. The new owners even use the old Scoop Shop’s menu board to display the current tap list.
7 Balls Brewing will feature eight taps for now, and will have a selection of traditional styles on tap at all times, including lagers, ales, an IPA, and a stout. They will also offer their very popular hard cider recipe, as well as growlers to go.
“We have our vinous [fruit based] license in addition to our malt license, specifically because we have been home brewing cider for several years,” Sherwin added. “Additionally, we offer up a gluten-free option as well, and we’ll have a tap solely dedicated to that. We are also looking to eventually offer additional prepackaged options from other vendors, such as ciders, seltzers, and mixed drinks.”
7 Balls’ current hours are Friday and Saturday, from 3-7 p.m.; and Sunday, from 12-7 p.m. For more information, visit www.7ballsbrewing.com.